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3.5/4

Great recipe. Only downside is the amount of dirty dishes at the end. I would add some spices to the béchamel sauce as it lacked some essence but otherwise it was great for a big group. I subbed chicken in one version and beef in another. Both were a hit.

A Cook
from Florida
/ 03.31.2016

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I really liked this recipe. I halved it and then forgot to mix part of the bechamel into the pasta and ended putting it all on the top. It was still good and I am sure it will be better when I follow the directions. I did not try to line up the pasta and I mixed beaten egg whites into the meat mixture like when making Joy of Cooking moussaka so I didn't waste them. I had trouble with the pan size but managed to cram it all into my big white round casserole somehow.

shivece
from Canterbury, NH
/ 10.24.2014

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Here are the proportions that worked for my regular-size lasgna pan: 1 28oz can of tomatoes for one pound of meat. I used Perciatelli pasta (long thin tubes) about 3/4 pound. The long tubes helped me line them up. Lining them up helped them fit in the pan. The dish was very tasty and I'd make it again with the new proportions. i would add more tomatoes, maybe, and simmer longer. All in all a very tasty dish and my kids loved it.

HappyDaisy
from New York, NY
/ 01.06.2014

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The bechamel sauce is really, really good on the pasta. However, I too arranged the pasta as shown in the picture and it fell apart after baking and serving. Not worth the effort at all. And the meat sauce wasn't enough for all of the pasta and so the dish felt a bit dry. The leftovers were awful once reheated because the dish was so dry to begin with.

A Cook
from Philadelphia, PA
/ 03.24.2013

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Ok, this is seriously delicious. My husband requested pastitsio, and this was one of the better looking recipes I found. I did scale it down, after reading the other comments. I halved the pasta. For the bechamel, I scaled it down to 4 cups milk and adjusted the ratios accordingly. I did the whole batch of meat sauce. I have about a cup and a half of sauce left over, but if I had halved it, I wouldn't have had enough. I'll just use the sauce on pasta later on.
While this is a delicious recipe, I just don't see how on earth it would work with the full quantities unless you had a restaurant sized hotel pan to cook it in (and an oven big enough to fit the pan).
We really enjoyed the final result with a nice Greek salad and I'd make this again.

MissAmy1977
/ 02.03.2013

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Great recipe, ended up using more spices and bought canned diced tomatoes, instead of draining, reserving, chopping then adding the tomatoes w/juice to the pot.

mgoodm
/ 10.17.2012

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I've made this twice now. The first time, I realized the lasagne pan was not nearly big enough, so I baked a second, smaller casserole at the same time to hold the overflow -- and still didnt use all 2 lbs of the pasta. This second time, trying to avoid the same situation, I dedicated a much larger dish to the project ahead of time, and only used one 28oz can of tomatoes. Still, it wouldnt fit and I had to sacrifice the last cup of bechamel due to overflow. This time, it came out a bit dry and the flavors were too diluted across all the pasta. I know there is a fantastic recipe in here somewhere, but the proportions just arent coming out right for me. It has such potential, I may still give it a third shot. Its so close to being perfect! Next time I will make all the sauce called for by the recipe, but use a bigger pan and just 1.25 lbs of pasta.

snaize
from stamford, ct
/ 09.11.2012

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I loved this! My family and exchange students loved this! There are six of us, so I cut the recipe in half (bearing in mind that four of "us" are young men) - and there was leftovers for lunch the next day. I didn't putz around with lining up the ziti - who has time for that?

anddou
/ 01.08.2012

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Great flavors. I used the recipe in
a "bastardized" way that worked out
great... I baked just the lamb
mixture topped with the bechamel --
no pasta -- for more flexibility in
serving. Made a care package for a
friend with half of the recipe over
pasta (buttered and tossed w/parmesan), and served the other half over mashed potatoes for a family dinner. Delicious either way.

Belle_Mom
/ 08.16.2010

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Served this at a recent Gourmet Club
event as part of a Greek menu. Nice
and creamy. Used lamb ($7.99 per
pound) but could have served beef
for less and doubt that anyone would
notice. Many felt it was like Greek
Hamburger Helper. Made a huge amount
but didn't want the leftovers. Took
the trouble to arrange the pasta
like the picture but it fell apart
when plating the food.